Month: March 2022
Porepunkah – Our Last Night on This Trip
We delayed our departure from Deniliquin this morning because the local Museum opened at 10.00 am and we wanted the opportunity to see inside. This was the house in which Jill’s grandfather lived whilst he served as the Inspector of Police in the town from around 1931 to 1938. It appears that the police stopped […]
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Deniliquin and A Final Part of Family History
Jill’s grandfather was promoted to Inspector around 1931 and was posted to Deniliquin after studying and passing the necessary exams whilst he served as a Sergeant in Queanbeyan. He retired in 1938 and moved back to Moss Vale firstly and then to Queanbeyan where he was appointed Coroner, a position in which he served until […]
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Cowra Part Two – Exploring This Area
Today was an interesting day as we travelled around the area near Cowra following Jill’s family history. If you missed it, you can read about it here. We started our day by looking around the site of the WW2 internment camp on the edge of the town of Cowra. In 1941 a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp was […]
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Cowra Part One – Family History
Our trip around the locations at which Jill’s Grandfather served during his police career is not in the same order as the places to which we was posted. We are now at Cowra and today, we spent a few hours exploring the nearby little village of Gooloogong, which is where his story starts. Frederick GeorgeRuffles, […]
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On to Cowra – The Furthest Place on This Trip From Home.
My post today is a little shorter than my previous posts as today was just a travel day for us to transition from Moss Vale up to the Central NSW town of Cowra. After leaving Moss Vale we travelled back through Goulburn and then turned north to Cowra. We found the unique Goulburn war memorial […]
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Southern Tablelands Sights and Attractions
We spent yesterday exploring family history and we devoted today to exploring the towns and surrounding areas of these Southern Highlands. This area reeks of history. Many of the towns here are amongst the oldest in regional New South Wales. Even the place where we staying, ‘The Briars” is historic. It was built in 1845 as […]
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Family History – Moss Vale
We are here in Moss Vale in New South Wales’ Southern Highlands. This is the epicentre of Jill’s family history. Her great grandparents are buried here, her grandfather was born here and her mother and father were married here. Jill’s great grand parents, Robert and Mary Anne Ruffles were married in England on October 3, […]
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Beaches, Pioneers and History
I’ve always thought that the most scenic coastline I have ever seen is along the Oregon Coast in the USA. Yesterday, we explored the beaches and coastline for about 15 kilometres to both the north and south of Batemans Bay and I think that in many ways, it rrvals the coastline of Oregon. The beaches […]
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A Leisurely Day Travelling from Merimbula to Batemans Bay
It’s amazing how much difference a day makes. Yesterday was grey, cool and wet. Today was warm, clear and sunny. It’s good for the soul and for photography to see some sun! The first part of our drive to Bega was straightforward. When it comes to good old Aussie cheese, few names come up as […]
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Around Merimbula
It’s been very wet here in Merimbula. Since we arrived two days ago, we have had over 100 mm of rain (4 inches). Everything feels damp, the ground is sodden and some roads are closed. Even this poor bedraggled Wattle Bird sheltered under the verandah of our cabin for an hour or two. Fortunately, we […]
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Cooma – Our Family History
Our time in Cooma was spent looking around for places where Jill’s Grandfather, Frederick Ruffels, would have served as a policeman. We first found the gaol, that sat (appropriately) next to the court house and behind that was the police station. The building looked as if it would have been used in the 1920s when […]
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Travelling From Bombala to Merimbula via Cooma
We had another rainy day as we drove from Bombala up to Cooma, and then on to Merimbula where we will spend the next three nights. For most of the day, we drove cross the rolling Monaro Plains. This area of NSW is prime grazing land, mostly for sheep and wool. The topography reminded […]
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